Foldable bedstead.



' No. 640,965. Patahtd Ian. 9, I900. I

J. M. SONGER.

FOLDABLE BEDSTEAD. (Application filed Mar. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet l.

I TTEsT J -EPH JYLsONGER- 6, his odrbowrnes No. 640,965. Patented Ian. 9, I900. J. M. SONGEB.

FOLDABLE BEDSTEAD.

(Application filed Mar. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.) 2 sha'etkshe t 2.

JOSEPH SONGER Tm s 012170 wtij ilnrrnn STATES PATENT Option.

J OSEPII M. SONGER, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

FOLDABLE BEDSTEAD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 640,965, dated January 9, 1900. Application filed March 20, 1899- Serial No. 709,754. (N model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH M. SONGER, of the city of Decatur, county of Macon, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foldable Bedsteads, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to bedsteads pivoted at one end in an upright casing, so as to be folded into the casing when not in use. It is exemplified in the structure hereinafter described, and it is defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a central vertical section, on line Y in Fig. 2, of a bedstead constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line so in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 2 in Fig. 2. Fig.

4 is a front elevation of the bedstead-casing with the bedstead folded therein and the doors closed. Fig. 5 is a detail section on linens in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a perspective representation of the lower end of a door to a weight-oompartment. Fig. 7 is a section through the lower half of a bearing for the pivot-shaft of the bedstead.

The casing comprises two principal compartments-an upper one to receive the bedstead, which is designated by 1, and a lower one to contain the bedding, which is desig-' nated by 2. The compartment is subdivided into three spaces-a large central one for the bedstead and two narrow ones on the sides to contain the weights that are used to counterbalance the weight of the bed and the mechanism through which the weights act on the bedstead. Sills are placed onein the lower end of each weight-compartment, and a transverse pivot-shaft 7 is journaled in bearings fastened on the sills. Pulleys 21, or segments thereof, are keyed onto the ends of the shaft by means of pins passing through the pulleys and through the shaft or by other means capable of making unyielding connections. Head blocks 16 are fastened one in each weight-compartment above sills 20, and pulleys 18 are journaled in slots in the blocks on pins 17. Cords or chains 22 are fastened to pulleys 21 and are extended upward from the front side of such pulleys. They run over pulleys 18 and connect below the rear sides of pulleys 18 with lift-rods 2a of weights 23. The weights are long in proportion to their width and wide in proportion to their thickness, and they are made of metal or other heavy substance. The liftrods 24 of the weights 23 are long and straight to receive supplemental weights, (represented by broken lines at 25 in Fig, 3.) The permanent weights are made heavy enough to counterbalance the bedstead, and an ordinary amount of bedding and supplementary weigh ts are added to meet unusual circumstances. The weights are encased on all sides, and the casing for each consists of side of compartment 1, a strip 29, permanently secured to such side, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and a strip 19*, fastened to the door and removable therewith. The door has downward-extending catches 19 on. its inner side which catch depressions in sills 20, and it is secured at its upper end by screws or other readily detachable fastenings, so that it may be quickly removed to give access to the weights and cords. The bearings for the pivot-shaft 7 are each composed in part of the lower half 26, which .is fastened to a sill 20 and provided with a pair of bolts 26, (shown in Fig. 7,) the threaded ends of which project upward. The upper half of the hearing, which is shown at 27 in Fig. 3, is adapted to fit over bolts 26", and wing-nuts 28, on the upper ends of such bolts, provide means whereby the shaft may be expeditiously placed in its hearings or removed therefrom.

The bedstead consists of a pair of side boards 8, having ledges 14 on their lower inner edges and cross-slats 13 and 15 fastened to the ledges. The side boards are fixed to the pivot-shaft by means of brackets 9, which are fastened to the side boards and keyed to the shaft by means of removable .pins 10. (Shown in Fig. 1.) The swinging end of the bedstead is supplied with a pair of swingable legs, as 11, which are pivoted to ledges 14 by means of a cross-rod 12. The cross-slat 15 nearest the swinging end of the bed is placed on the ledges, so as to permit the legs to swing in line with the ledges when the bedstead is raised, and the other cross-slats are set into the ledges so as to be flush therewith.

The doors are each composed of a narrow strip 3, which is hinged to a side of compare ment 1, and a door proper, as 4, which is ICO hinged to strip 3. The hinges preferably employed are shown at 5 in Fig. 1, and they are double-jointed, so as to provide for swing of strips 3 on the casing and of the doors on the strips. The strips 3 are Wide enough to extend over the spaces occupied by the weightcompartments, and they permit the doors to be swung back out of the way when the bedstead is placed against a wall. (See Fig. 2.)

The doors are preferably provided with mirrors at 29*, and they, as well as other parts of the casing, may be ornamented in various ways.

The casing has casters, preferably of the ball-bearing type, and the legs 11 are similarly provided. This provision enables the bedstead to be easily moved around the room while the bed is made up.

In using the invention it is advisable to remove the bedding from the bedstead of mornings and place it in the drawer 6, as the ventilation incident to such operation is advantageous.

The Weights and the shaft, with the bedstead thereon, may be easily detached from the casing whenever it is more convenient to handle the parts separately, the removable doors 16 and the detachable bearings 27 providing for such detachment.

Ventilating-openings, as 28 in Fig. 1, are made through the casing and covered with wire-netting or the like.

What I claim is 1. In a foldable bedstead, the combination of a casing divided into side compartments and a central compartment, removable doors for the side compartments, a pivot-shaft journaled in the casing with its ends extended into the side compartments, pulleys above the ends of the shaft, weights, rods fastened in the Weights to receive supplementary weights, cords connected with the shaft, run over the pulleys and fastened to the rods of the weights, hinged strips coextensive with the side compartments, doors for the central compartment hinged to the side strips, and a bedstead fastened to the shaft, substantially as set forth.

2. In a foldable bedstead having counterbalance-Weights, casings for the weights each composed of a vertical permanent wall, a vertical rib fixed on the wall and extended at right angles therefrom, a vertical removable door connected with the permanent wall and the rib thereon, and a vertical rib fixed to the door in position to oppose the rib on the permanent wall and to bear against the wall when the door is closed, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH M. SONGER.

Witnesses:

J. H. DURFEE, G. V. LoRINe. 

